Honey Cheerios (Nestle)

Reviewer: Ben Kirby
Purchased: Tesco Extra (Scunthorpe)

Honey Cheerios......

As I've established before (see my review of Chocolatey Cheerios), I'm not a massive fan of the plain Cheerios taste, but it isn't the worst thing in the world.  So a variation of Cheerios is always a welcome opportunity.

So, we have Honey Cheerios.  I know folk who love these "Little O's", and I see some of the appeal, but I don't see past them being Cheerios to be honest, and that standard flavour is still there.

You open the box, and there's a lovely sweet smell.  Not sure it's a classic honey smell, but it's not just a sugary smell.  It's sweet and pleasant, and gives the cereal a great start.

Splash some milk on them and you're good to go!

The first few are great! Nice sweet and almost creamy taste.  I don't think it tastes like honey, but it's not some awful powder coating, you can see they have an almost "glazed" look about them.  Presumably, this is to encourage the idea that they've been dipped into honey.....

So, you go through a bowl, they taste great to start with, then you have the semi-soggy ones and they keep their taste pretty well, but there is that classic Cheerio taste becoming more prevalent now.  Then you get to the soggy ones......these are, to all intents and purposes your plain old cheerios, sat swimming in milk that's flavoured by the sweet remnants of the honey-glaze.  Yes, you still get the sweetness, but it's not in the same way, this is where I get disappointed.  It goes from being an almost excellent cereal to a pretty average bowl by the end.

The last few soggy ones are almost a chore, and the sweetened milk isn't enough to save the day.  Yes it's pleasant, but it's not the equivalent of their chocolate counterpart, or the wonderful (now non-existent) Banana Bubbles ("the cereal that thinks it's a milkshake!").

The degradation into soggy blandness is a slow process, so if you wolf though a bowl, it may not be an issue, but when trying to enjoy some and take your time, it becomes more chore than pleasure towards the end.

I would buy them and eat them again, because even at their worst, they aren't awful, just inadequate when hoping to satiate an appetite for a consistent and delicious treat.

All in all, they're better than the chocolate variety when it comes to the actual taste of the cereal, but the soggy remnants and poor flavouring of the milk mean it has some work to do to become a "King".

3/5 (but I'd chooses these over the chocolate ones!)

Do you agree with me? Am I out of control with my assessment?  Let me know in the replies!

-Ben

Toffee Crisp (Nestle)

Reviewer: Ben Kirby
Purchased: Tesco Extra (Scunthorpe)

Well, a cereal created with the branding and flavours of a chocolate bar!  Not an original concept, but certainly the first one I've reviewed.  Certainly an appealing prospect, and something I seriously looked forward to.

The initial question I had was "do I even enjoy a Toffee Crisp?", I couldn't tell you the last time I had one, but I don't dislike them, I just don't favour them over other options.

So, is the cereal the same satisfying gooey/chocolatey/crunchy experience? Erm....no. 1 out of 3, and I don't think that one particular factor is a good thing to be honest.  Fact: the "crunchy" element is actually a detriment to the cereal.

Let's start at the beginning though.

You open the box, and the bag, ready to experience a chocolatey smell, not dissimilar to maybe the choco caramel Shreddies I've already reviewed, or even the chocolate Cheerios, or any other chocolate cereal really.  Alas, nothing but a strange cardboard-type fragrance.

Not a good start.

So, ok, not hitting one of my sense immediately doesn't mean that there's not going be a bad taste or anything really.  It just means it's not a fragrant cereal right?

Nope!  It means (in this case) the flavour was apparently the least important factor when creating this cereal.  Perhaps behind branding and pricing?

I seriously think that this cereal was put together to be bought due to it being a familiar looking box that would make you think "ooh, I bet they're good!".  Let's be fair, it's exactly what happened to me!

You pour them out into the bowl and you have 2 types of cereal, some hard (crunchy) chocolate bobble clusters, and some crispy  balls of what I expect is supposed to be a toffee flavour.

They look appealing, but the flavours just aren't there.  There's a sweet and almost creamy taste, but a cardboard-esque flavour the sits behind anything pleasant.  The chocolate bobbles are reminiscent of other "crunchy" chocolate cereals, but the taste of chocolate is at a minimum, and they really are incredibly hard or "crunchy", maybe too much so.  As for the "toffee" crispy balls, well, they're so smooth on the tongue that the contrast in texture alone is off-putting, and the lack of anything other than a creamy sweet flavour that barely resembles toffee is just the final nail in the coffin.

You might think "hey, Ben, wait! Maybe all the flavour washed into the milk!".  No. It didn't.  You're left with some semi-sweet milk, but it's not exactly noteworthy.  Just another addition to the list of disappointments.

Maybe my expectations were higher than they should be? Surely though, anyone who sees the bright package and is familiar with the brand, would have similar expectations?

It's not inedible, but it's not nice to eat.  It's just a big disappointment that (metaphorically speaking) leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

Lack of flavour, horrible mixture of textures and what would appear to be more time spent on packaging than actual development, means that this is one to avoid.

1/5 

Don't be suckered in! If you like a Toffee Crisp, have one.  Avoid this abomination at all costs.

Have I been too harsh on this? Am I right? Join in! Leave a comment, let me know what you think!

- Ben